Bright Young Thing Wear-a-thon, Eliza Starbuck
PHOTOGRAHPY Stas Komarovski
PHOTO COLLAGE By Eliza Starbuck
This is Bright Young Things’ Designer and Founder, Eliza Starbuck. She’s decided to join the ranks and take on a Wear-a-thon challenge of her own. We thought you’d like to know a little more about her as she embarks on adventures in her little black dress.
WHAT DO YOU DO? I blog, craft, volunteer, design, and run the Bright Young Things business; now I’m a mom too.
HOW IS IT TO WEAR A DRESS YOU DESIGNED FOR OTHERS? It’s interesting, I don’t really attach myself to things, but I do assign meaning and importance to the things I do keep around. This dress, for instance, makes me feel protected, presentable, free, feminine, and confident all at the same time. For me, it’s a magic dress in that way.
WHY ARE YOU TAKING ON THE WEAR-A-THON CHALLENGE? I think it’ll be a good excuse to play dress up. Taking the challenge means I’ll go through my jewelry chests, pull out the headdresses & hat boxes, and dig a bit deeper into my closet to see how I can get more use out of what I have. And then I’ll have to force myself to be bold enough to wear everything out in public. I have some really great costume pieces that I rarely ever pull out and I’ll be donning them with the dress. Otherwise, what’s the point of having so much stuff? Plus, it looks like fun.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE? When I get dressed I try to imagine I’m going to a cocktail party with dancing in Outer-space; it would be illustrated by Harry Clarke, hosted by Titania, and the attendees would include some very well decorated Amazon Warriors, a shining Joan of Arc, and the Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers.
WHAT’S YOUR NORMAL SUMMER STYLE ROUTINE? I’m not very shy, so I wear as little as possible. It’s hot in NYC, so I strip down to bare minimums, and then throw on crazy accessories for decoration. (Kinda like the warriors featured above.)
WHERE HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR WARDROBE’S PRIZE ACCESSORIES? Many of my favorites I’ve made myself, crystal medallions and headdresses. But the rest all comes from junk stores, thrift shops, vintage stores, and craft fairs from around the world.
HOW DO YOU PLAN ON SPENDING THIS SUMMER? I’ll be gallivanting around New York City, seeking out the local Bright Young Things.
WHAT PART OF THE WEAR-A-THON IS THE MOST EXCITING TO YOU? Having an excuse to go nuts with my costume pieces.
HOW LONG IS YOUR WEAR-A-THON GOING TO BE? A month to a year. I don’t believe in strict rules, it doesn’t seem to be a natural or current way of going about things, one must stay flexible these days. Things change all the time, but I promise to give it a month and see how that treats me.
To see her dailies check out the Eliza Starbuck Wear-a-thon gallery.
